The End of Free Speech in Wisconsin

On July 9, 1964, a week after President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, Judge James Hare in Selma, Ala., issued a brazenly unconstitutional injunction forbidding three or more citizens from gathering to discuss civil rights or voter registration.

That was eight months before “Bloody Sunday,” when state troopers and sheriff's deputies did violence not just to the law, but also to human beings, by using tear gas, billy clubs and horses to beat and trample 500 civil rights protesters, including children, attempting to cross Edmund Pettus Bridge.

I bring up that illegal injunction in the “Race and Public Policy” class I teach at UW-Milwaukee as an example of what can happen when legal power falls into the hands of those who have no qualms about breaking the law or violating the Constitution.

This isn't something that only happened in the racist South in the bad, old days nearly half a century ago. It happened last week in Madison, Wis.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker announced a new policy requiring all groups of four or more people to apply for a permit 72 hours in advance before engaging in any activity expressing their opinions in the state Capitol.

Outside the Capitol, groups of 100 or more would have to apply for such permits 72 hours in advance. That should certainly nip in the bud all those enormous demonstrations by tens of thousands of people protesting Walker's destructive policies—especially since Walker says he's also going to start charging citizens who want to publicly criticize his administration.

Walker's new policy will require demonstrators to pay $50 an hour for each Capitol police officer assigned to protect the governor from the hurtful words of those crowds.

Wow. Figuring a 40-hour week and 52 weeks in a year, that comes to $104,000 a year. Who says Walker wants to slash public employees' pay?

In addition to requiring people who don't like him to pay for their own policing, Walker also intends to charge enormous amounts of money for imaginary cleanup costs.

“Enormous” and “imaginary” aren't exaggerations. We all remember earlier this year when protesters filled the Capitol day after day to protest Republicans scrapping 50 years of collective bargaining rights for public employees and gutting public education. The Walker administration came up with truly unbelievable damages of $7.5 million as a result of protest signs being taped to the walls with easily removable painters' tape. Only deafening peals of laughter from voters throughout the state forced Walker's people to lower that absurd estimate.

Imagine: charging protesters $7.5 million for damage plus another $8 million (the administration's estimate of policing costs for those previous demonstrations).

If Walker can charge citizens more than $15 million if they want to complain about his policies, only millionaires will be able to organize public demonstrations against the governor.

The beauty of that, of course, is that millionaires may be the only people in Wisconsin who are perfectly happy with everything Walker has done. Walker's passed out hundreds of millions of dollars to corporate millionaires while cutting funding for everybody else in the state.

Even though Walker has identified elementary-school teachers as today's new filthy rich robber barons, they're going to have to drain all their Scrooge McDuck swimming pools full of money to publicly complain about this governor.

Tea Party in Awkward Spot

It's too bad all of those bothersome public demonstrators are trying to exercise their First Amendment right of freedom of speech and assembly to petition their government. If they wanted to exercise their Second Amendment right to carry a gun into the Capitol to blow everybody away, it would only cost them $50 for a permit.

Speaking of the Tea Party, their hero Scott Walker has put them in a really awkward position.

Before tens of thousands of schoolteachers, parents of disabled children and poor people who can't afford health care started showing up at the Capitol, the whole place was overrun with Tea Party demonstrators waving racist posters of President Barack Obama dressed up as an African witchdoctor and other ugly political sentiments.

Now the governor's new policy against free speech and assembly is forcing many of his strongest supporters to demonstrate how blatantly dishonest and hypocritical they really are.

The Tea Party loves to wrap its hate speech and extreme political views in respectable language about constitutional rights and opposition to infringements upon individual freedom by Big Government.

But it would be difficult to imagine a more brazen violation of freedom in America than allowing an elected politician to restrict gatherings of four or more people at the Capitol and to charge citizens for protesting government policies they oppose.

Unless they are complete frauds, members of the Tea Party should stand alongside every decent citizen in opposing Walker's unconstitutional restrictions on free speech and assembly in Wisconsin.

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Joel McNally is a national-award-winning newspaper columnist and a longtime political commentator on Milwaukee radio and television. Since 1997, Joel has written a column for the Shepherd Express where he also was editor for two years.

Comments (20)

One thing we don't need are all these riots over p...

One thing we don't need are all these riots over petty employment issues. The governor should allow the riots but the protesters must accept the consequences. First I would send in a battalion of liquored up National Guard troops armed with night sticks, pepper spray, rubber bullets, fire hoses, and tazers.

Capture the leaders and have the Capitol police take them to capitol basement and forced to confess. Then march them around the capitol building for all to see. Then sent to capitalist education camps where they are taught the virtues of capitalism , Classical Economic Theory and free market enterprise. Upon graduation they will return to Madison and kiss the governor's ring and profess their allegiance.No one gets killed, everyone wins.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

usually i disagree with McNally. he's as left as y...

usually i disagree with McNally. he's as left as you can get with falling into the Pacific Ocean. and any extremists, in my opinion, are to be shunned. i DO agree in the right to free speech. whole heartedly. and when you trample on it even a tad, you risk trampling on the entire freedom. i get that. i do.

but if i need a permit/license to fish or bowhunt or camp, what's the big deal about getting a permit to assemble and speak? i could just as easily sing, "signs, signs, everywhere signs" and scream these fish and this land belongs to everyone, right? i don't feel my rights are being infringed upon just because i have to purchase a license.

i understand the $7 million clean-up bill was a gross overestimate. BUT, keep this in mind. when people assemble and speak, you have to have some police presence. you have to. cause if for some reason that crowd goes bonkers and the you-know-what-hits-the-fan, people will say, "well, where was security?". and security costs money. and whenever you have people assemble for long periods of time you're gonna have to clean up after them - cause they won't do it themselves. that costs money.

last thing - McNally's comments about posters of Obama dressed like an African witch doctor and other ugly political statements?? did you see the poster with the crosshairs on Walker's face during the capitol protests? or the man in his 60's holding a poster that read, "Walker's mother should've swallowed that load". i have many pictures of the "angry statements" the anti-Walker crowd made at the capitol that i can send to you. please don't paint them as completely innocent. they're not.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Trolling makes up about 90% of the SE reader comme...

Trolling makes up about 90% of the SE reader comments. I wouldn't worry too much about such things much less use them to form an opinion on the perseverance of the human race.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

any time i read the comments on a walker article, ...

any time i read the comments on a walker article, I lose a little hope for the perseverance of the human race. what is happening to us as people? are we really at odds over something as clearly cut as getting ones worth from their job? perhaps it isnt that public workers are getting too much, but that private workers are getting the shaft. this is just another measure for those on top to eliminate the threat and maximize income as they have already successfully done with private sector jobs. do a little research of european labor policies (ie germany) and compare to us policies. we are just glorified slaves working ourselves senselessly into our 70s before we croak of exhaustion with little to show for our time served. if an employer cant make room to take care of his employees, that is not a wise investment long term, but will surely maximize short term profits. what a horrible way of thinking. profit over compensating the people who make you successful.

seriously where is this heading?

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

I've been hanging with teachers too and what a pat...

I've been hanging with teachers too and what a pathetic bunch. One who has been teaching 20 years is seeing his $100k plus salary and benefit package being reduced by $17,000. He thinks he will be fired because it was found out he went to Madison to protest while calling in sick.Well, he is sick now from anxiety attacks. Poor baby. Naturally he took his inflated salary and pretended to be a big shot by buying a home in the burbs and a couple of SUVs, and smart phones for his kids.Where I come from teachers lived in cracker box houses and drove old beaters. If they wanted more money they simply did farm work or road construction in the summers. But this teacher's hands are soft and has no employable skills. So he's screwed. What a putz whining about $17,000 a year. The boy needs a good slap and needs to man-up. Needs to cut his lifestyle down to size. His free speech is getting is ass fired. If any of my employees were to ever say a word against me publicly -- FIRED baby.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Joel loves to relate everything to Selma, Alabama....

Joel loves to relate everything to Selma, Alabama. This is just another good idea from Scott Walker. We need to make government more of a profit center. Charging people to camp out on government property is no different that when the state parks charge people to camp out on their property. People are always free to demonstrate on their own personal property, speak freely on their on property, and write letters to newspapers. No one's free speech is being hindered. You can always complain right here on this web site anytime you want.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Yes, if we make all public employees self-employed...

Yes, if we make all public employees self-employed outside contractors it would make a great teaching moment. Being self employed I must submit bids, search for work, and manage my own benefits like health insurance, disability, life insurance, company auto, and payroll taxes. I can be fired at anytime. And I don't care because there is always plenty of work and incompetent overpriced competitors.

If we did this with teachers it would be great. They submit bids to the school district. The district could choose to accept the lowest bids. The laws of supply, demand, and opportunity benefit ( the girl is cute, hire her) would go into affect. Teachers could be fired for any reason at any time without financial penalty to the district. Teachers would simply fund their own benefits and could do this collectively through a trade organization. If a teacher wanted no health care or pension, they would be free to do so. Or they could spend their cash and get Cadillac plans.at their own expense. Everyone wins except those that are not chosen. A young college grad could easily get a job by just submitting a $15,000 a year bid. Skilled teachers well liked by principals would probably be able to get away with higher bids. It would be Priceline.com for government workers. Yes, we need a Priceline.com approach to hiring public employees.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

By the way- Recall elections don't just happen eve...

By the way- Recall elections don't just happen every time someone gets elected and the other party whines. Only 2 governors in the history of the US have been recalled since 1911. Look it up! Only a handful of gubernatorial recalls have even been attempted in that time. Recalls only happens when someone really, really messes up... like scott walker

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

The people protesting are mad because their excess...

The people protesting are mad because their excessive welfare is being cut. About half of each state employee's pay check is welfare. Everybody want free health care without earning the level of income required to pay for it. What these demonstrators forget is they are free to go out and earn as much money as they want through the embracement of capitalism. Hard work is just terrifying to them. Therefore I have no problem with charging rioters for the inconvenience they are causing the governor and our society. I have no problem getting the National Guard and Capitol Police to use deadly force if need be to fight the insurgents. Good thing I'm not governor, I'd make Uday Hussain look like Mr. Rogers. We need to crack down hard on anyone who speaks against the governor. Thats why we are a democracy with elections. Stop whining and just vote. If you lose, accept defeat. But rioting, defecating on the capitol, pretending to poor and downtrodden , is a complete lack of class.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

I can see why you want to remain anonymous--I too ...

I can see why you want to remain anonymous--I too would be afraid to use my name if I thought like you did! How about supporting the ENTIRE Constitution, not just the parts that support your position? The right to protest is there for the very reason that we need it now--abuse of power. If elections were the end why are there recalls, impeachments...? So someone who is deceptive in campaigning and/or does not make decisions for the greater good can be held in check. If fighting for what's right is whining then what is complaining about those who have the guts to do so? And if you really don't know that free speech is one of the cornerstones of democracy perhaps you need a review of grade school social studies? Check your facts, I earn a living, have healthcare--such as it is and as much as it costs--and I actually care about people other than myself. If you think there is actual equal opportunity in this country, wake up! You are for deadly force? You think the protests are riots? Keep hiding in shame--I can see why!

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Ha, I love these two successive sentences: "We nee...

Ha, I love these two successive sentences: "We need to crack down hard on anyone who speaks against the governor. Thats why we are a democracy with elections." Classic. Funny how the people who speak so loudly against education are the ones who need it the most.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Its ok to protest but do it on your own property. ...

Its ok to protest but do it on your own property. Put up a sign or camp out in a tent, but do it on your own property.
Walker was not deceptive. He told us at a fund raiser he would fight against the collective bargaining abuses. You must have selective hearing to the only thing you know is what you hear or tv or read in the papers. He's not going to cause controvery by saying it on tv. The point is to get elected by any means posible. He owes to his supporters to get elected, not be overly transparent. That only gives ammunition to the other side.
The protesters are not fighting for what is right. They are mad that their excessive welfare paychecks for their make-work jobs were slightly reduced. The right thing to do would be to fire them all and hire self employed independent contractors. The true test of self worth is what someone can earn as a self employed person.
These childish riots are an embarrassment and a threat to state security. You can hold a recall election without a riot. What is the point of the protests? The governor isn't going to change his mind. Most people a good hardworking decent law abiding folk that are not dependent on welfare. They don't like seeing government workers pulling down excecutive level salaries, Cadillac benefits, triple dipping, and pensions - then having a good laugh at taxpayer expenese.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

As a lawful, tax playing citizen of the United Sta...

As a lawful, tax playing citizen of the United States and Wisconsin, government buildings ARE my property. As well as they are yours, and everyone else who pays for them. The right to assemble is given to demonstrate the power of the people (you know, We the people, for the people?) over the government; to right wrongs.Now, ignoring all of that, if I were to protest on my property, a total of maybe 100 people would see me, and even then they'd be blazing by at 55 mph seeing that I live rurally. Does that make sense to you?
Try and read a book you dolt.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Oh, and just so you know, politicians only goal is...

Oh, and just so you know, politicians only goal is not to get in office, it's to make positive change for the vast majority--their true supporters--not the few, super rich who can buy them out (Koch).
These childish, ignorant, grammatically horrid posts from neaderthals such as yourself are what is truly embarassing.
Just so you know, saying that state workers are freeloaders and then supporting Walker is a joke. He cut state employee salaries then gave the position of Governor a six-figure raise. You are right about one thing: there certainly are people laughing at tax payer expense, and it's the people you support.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Try marching into the White House or the US Capito...

Try marching into the White House or the US Capitol and demonstrating. You'd never make it past the gate. Your property, right?So its all about you and who sees you. "Oh look at me, I'm a big protester, look at me, look at me,!!!"

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Childish response, but what's to be expected from ...

Childish response, but what's to be expected from someone who has to hide behind their computer screen.
A protest doesn't do much good if no one sees it, if no one knows about it. Since you don't seem to give a flying f*** about civil liberties millions of Americans have died for over the past 236 years to give you, you can go move to a third world country where you can learn to appreciate them instead of bickering like a four year old with anyone who disagrees with you.
Good night.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

These protests are all about "me". Its give me a ...

These protests are all about "me". Its give me a big salary, give me a pension, give me health insurance, give me job security. Look at ME, I'm a big protester on TV. Protestors are concerned about one thing -- them and their money. They don't care about the taxpayers who pay their salaries. They don't care about providing service to the state, they are only concerned about themselves. They show no mercy on the taxpayer, they make no attempt to make peace or a truce with the governor, they refuse to be humble. Like spoiled children who were given everything they ask for and then cannot fend for themselves when daddy cannot provide anymore. So they panic and protest. Well a lot of people are tired of these childish outburst. Grow the F up and move on. If you don't like your job and the benefits, go work someplace else. But no those spoiled brat public workers are going to stomp their feet and throw a fit. They see others getting all the toys and they want that too. But those others went out and earned the money without collective bargaining and did it on their own.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Yo dude, if it was only the teachers that were pis...

Yo dude, if it was only the teachers that were pissed off there would be no chance of a recall. The fact that more than half the signatures needed have already been collected shows you there's more than a few lazy spoiled people whinning. I've got a good job, and an awesome health insurance package. I work in the private sector but I've been out with the teachers and everyone else protesting. Not because I want higher pay for myself, because I stand with the masses that are being wrongfully blamed for the problems of this country. I'm not there for "ME" I'm there for us because busting unions will affect us all. Maybe you're like one of those dull, porrly developed characters in Atlas Shrugged who only values working 24/7/365, but I like my weekends thank you very much.

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

Hey anonymous - how much is Walker and his masters...

Hey anonymous - how much is Walker and his masters, the Koch Brithers, paying you?

Anonymousmore than 7 years ago

I'm pretty sure the increase in the governor salar...

I'm pretty sure the increase in the governor salary was instituted by Doyle in 2008.

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